“It wasn’t like I was dribbling the ball and running up and down while I wasn’t playing,” Chaney said with a smile after his High Point Panthers beat Gardner-Webb on Saturday. “I wasn’t doing anything but spot shooting and working on free throws. Those are gimmes.”

The fact that anything basketball-related is a “gimme” for Chaney is amazing.

A 6-9 forward, Chaney is averaging 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, and he’s shooting 53.5 percent from the field. And he’s shooting a stellar 89.5 percent from the free-throw line, after going 8-for-8 in an every-point-counts double-overtime win Wednesday night against Liberty.

Even when he’s not actually making free throws, his reputation as an excellent free-throw shooter affects the game. Such was the case against Gardner-Webb, when the Panthers were trying to withstand a high-pressure rally from the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the final minutes of a game they won by six points.

“I caught the ball on a reverse, and they’re saying, ‘Don’t foul him,’ ” Chaney said. “That’s cool. Then I just kicked it out once they tried to come and double-team. It feels good when you’re at the end of the game and you get the ball and they say, ‘Don’t foul him.’ ”

Chaney completely revamped his shooting stroke during his time away from competition, and his ability to knock down jumpers has been a big part of his success this year. But this season will be a never-ending work in progress for Chaney, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA in October.

“I’m also trying to get him in and around the basket, too,” High Point coach Scott Cherry said. “You can see there aren’t really a lot of guys in this league who can match up with him and keep him from scoring around the rim. I don’t want him just shooting jump shots all the time. He’s going to do that, but I want to get him around the basket, too, as much as I can. He’s big, he’s physical, and he can score around the basket.”

A huge part of the comeback process was building up his endurance.

“I’m getting there,” Chaney says. “I didn’t have much time to prepare (before the season), with my strength and things like that. But I’m getting used to playing in games. There’s no excuses. I’m out there and I’m playing and I’m giving it what I’ve got.”

Chaney played 30 minutes Saturday against Gardner-Webb, and then 38 in the double-overtime game against Liberty—he finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in that win. The challenge for Cherry has been finding the right balance of minutes and rest for Chaney.

“He wants to stay out there,” Cherry says. “What I’m really trying to do is get him to play as hard as he can for as long as he can, and when I take him out, know I’m gonna put him right back in. Him and John Brown, I’ve got to keep those two on the floor and keep them as fresh as possible.”

Brown is the other half of High Point’s dynamic duo, and he’s an intriguing story, too. Brown is an insanely athletic 6-7 redshirt freshman who had to sit out last season while getting his academic situation in order. Brown attended three high schools and two prep schools, and his eligibility issues weren’t grade-related, but rather were a matter of him not taking the proper classes to be immediately qualified as a freshman.

Those issues are part of the reason Brown wound up at High Point—Cherry recruited him hard—and now he’s taking the Big South by storm. The left-hander had 28 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three blocks in his Division I debut, against UNC-Greensboro, and he hasn’t slowed much since. Brown is averaging 18.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.8 blocks, all while raising the energy level of his teammates.

“Man, John is John,” Chaney says with a laugh. “He runs the floor, plays hard. He’s going to use that energy for anything positive. He brings that every night, every practice, in the locker room, everywhere. That’s John. His energy is unbelievable. There’s not much to can do to control him. You’ve got to hope he’s missing shots.”

From his debut game—when he threw down a crazy alley-oop pass from Chaney, who was outside the 3-point arc—Brown’s high-flying dunks have made him something of a regular on ESPN’s Top 10 plays segment. He has scored at least 20 points nine times, had as many as 16 rebounds in a game, had at least three blocks six times and at least three steals seven times. He’s a lock for Big South freshman of the year, and he deserves national consideration in that category, too.

“This is what I’ve seen out of him since I started recruiting him. Everybody’s finally seeing it now,” Cherry said. “He’s the same player he was two years ago, as far as his energy level and his talent and his skill. For a guy who’s only played basketball for about four years, it’s amazing. He’s a tireless worker. He loves to watch film. He’ll continually try to improve the things he needs to get better at. When you find a guy like that, it’s special. And to get the skill that goes with it, that’s even more special. I’m lucky to have him.”

Five of High Point’s top six scorers are in their first year wearing the Panthers’ uniform, and there have been ups and downs this season. The Panthers are 8-8, 3-1 in Big South play—five of those losses were by seven or fewer points.

“There’s a lot of things we need to work on,” Chaney said. “But what we’ve found out is that when we play as a team, when we play inside-out, we’re much more effective. Shots start to go down for everybody.”

With Chaney and Brown as the core, there’s enough talent on this roster to engineer an NCAA Tournament upset, though that will probably have to wait a season (when seven of High Point’s top eight scorers are eligible to return). Even if the Panthers claim the Big South automatic bid by winning this year’s conference tournament, which is entirely possible, they’re a lock to be a No. 16 seed. And 16 seeds have never beaten No. 1 seeds—remember, though, Big South champ Asheville gave top-seeded Syracuse a huge scare last March.

The NCAA Tournament isn’t first and foremost on Chaney’s mind. After 44 months away from basketball competition, with all that time spent wondering if his heart would ever allow him to again play the game he loves, he’s not worried about what ifs.